Biting the Bullet
by Evil Icing
Summary: Sometimes Dr. Crab still finds himself caught in the crossfire of conflicting memories, each one more painful and telling than the last. [Pre-Turnabout Reclaimed.]


**_HOOK_**

"Dr. Crab?" called out a muffled voice from behind the door. It was accompanied by a familiar knock; not too loud, not too soft, but still waking him, nonetheless, from his unplanned nap. He barely had time to rub his eyes and stifle a yawn before the door to his lab opened completely.

It wasn't the kind of evening that Crab wished to entertain visitors, although that pretty much described the majority of his evenings. Normally he would have considered pretending to be too absorbed in his work, or maybe even hiding under his desk to avoid the contact... had it been anyone other than _her._

"Were you asleep?" Azura Summers casually asked, scanning him suspiciously as he tried to appear anything other than half-asleep. She was always energetic—charmingly so, with a mysterious air of magnetism surrounding her—and just her striking presence alone was enough to sober up anyone to certain consciousness.

"Of course I wasn't asleep, I was just... reading some files." He grabbed a fistful of nearby blank paper to further prove his point.

She suppressed a laugh. "You are such a bad liar, you know that?" she teased. "Well, at least that messy stack of papers makes a good pillow for you."

He frowned. "H-Hey...! Don't you ever let up?"

The sly, confident look she gave was more than equivalent to one big verbal, resounding _no—_ and he reminded himself that, _no_ , of course not, this was Azura. Letting up, letting go, letting things pass by unnoticed... none of that stuff was even in her vocabulary.

"Fine, you win—I guess I couldn't fool you even if I wanted to," he conceded, trying his hardest to sound indifferent. "So... what do you want this time?"

"I have a surprise for you!" she informed him, arms hiding roguishly behind her back; now that he thought about it, she _did_ appear to be hiding something. "Close your eyes."

Crab grunted in disapproval. He didn't care much for surprises, and cared even less for surprises he couldn't see. "The last time a woman tricked me into closing my eyes, if you recall, _someone_ commanded an orca to jump up and kiss me on the—"

"Come on, just do it, you jerk!"

"Fine," he sighed, acquiescing enough to squint his eyes slightly, just to humor her. He knew she wouldn't give up easily, so it was usually best to just play along. He held out his hand dramatically, waiting.

"You can't use this until next year, but it's still cute, so I guess it's not a total waste."

The warmth of her hands disappeared, followed by something fairly lightweight and smooth that fit easily in his open palm. He opened his eyes slowly, completely confused. He had no idea what to expect, especially typical of a situation that involved Azura.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be…

A penguin.

He blinked. "Uh, thanks, but… what _is_ it?"

"It's a little calendar, of course!" Azura explained proudly, excitement overcoming her. "The one I designed, remember? I told you about it a while back. It's technically not even on sale yet… this one is just a sample. But it's the first one that was ever made, so it's pretty special."

Crab hesitated. "Shouldn't you keep it, then, if it means that much to you…?"

"Well, I wanted you to have it."

He stared at it, then at her, then back at it again. He wasn't exactly sure what to say; he couldn't remember the last time someone had given him a gift, unless he counted all the donations people kept sending to support the Little Penguin Foundation at the aquarium. Thanks to Rifle, Jack decided it should be Crab himself that dealt with the proceedings; like he needed another thing to deal with, along with all of his other obligations. But at the very least, it was for a good cause, so Crab decided to keep his complaints about it to a minimum.

Son of a gun. He'd apparently been silent for too long.

Azura turned to pout. "You hate it."

"Wha—I don't _hate_ it!"

"I thought you would like it because I designed it to look like Rifle… and I know how busy you are, and you're always so unorganized…" Her brutal honesty wasn't exactly refreshing, but it certainly wasn't untrue. "I thought it would help you."

Crab examined the little cardboard penguin, flipped a few of the penguin-shaped pages. It did look a great deal like Rifle—if Rifle was two-dimensional and wore a flashy pirate hat. "Look, it's fine, okay? I like it, it's just…"

"It's just what?"

"Uh, I mean… isn't it a little too _cute_ for me?"

"Of course it's cute, it's a penguin!"

"I can see that, you brat, I just…."

"' _Too cute for me_ ,'" she said to herself, mockingly, in her best Dr. Crab voice. "All this coming from a guy who's obsessed with penguins."

"Hey, I am _not_ obsessed with—"

 _ **peep, peep, peep! peep, peep, peep!**_

The sound of a chirping baby penguin stopped the discussion in its tracks, Crab's own ringtone coming to bite him in the ass at the worst possible moment. Whoever it was, they were apparently on _her_ side. He reached quickly for his traitorous phone.

"Hold on, I have to take this."

He gave Azura an embarrassed scowl once he heard her chuckling to herself in the background.

"Crab speaking." He waved a hand at her dismissively once he noticed her own hand clamped tightly over her mouth. " _Quiet, you_! Huh? Wh-what, no, sir, that wasn't directed towards you… um, what can I do for you? Yeah. Yeah? You want me to _what_? That bad, huh? Sure, I can be there. Should I bring anesthetic? I mean, I guess that's enough. Right. I'm leaving now. Sure, bye."

He hung up, watching as Azura eyed him curiously. She had just barely regained her composure.

"Sorry. I've gotta go. That was Supermarine Aquarium. They had an incident with some dolphins, and said they needed an extra pair of hands… must be pretty bad."

Azura couldn't hide the way her face fell at the thought. "Need an assistant?" she asked, trying to sound more chipper than she looked.

He sneered, shaking his head. "Yeah, right. You cried when Ora chipped her tooth and I had to _mildly_ sedate her to apply analgesic."

"Hey, that was different! I can't help it that I'm sensitive... I can't stand to see animals suffer..."

"Yeah, you and Jack both. It's not like I enjoy seeing them suffer either, you know. We do all we can to make sure they are in as little pain as possible."

"I know, I know," Azura mumbled, nodding to herself. "I'm glad there are people like you who want to help them. I'm really grateful."

Her opinion was so sincere it was almost embarrassing; as a vet, Crab rarely heard such praise, and most people seemed to forget how much time and effort it took to become a doctor in the first place. _Grateful_ —that was definitely a new one.

He decided to leave it at that. After all, he had a job to do. "Alright, well, I'm heading out." He gathered some tools, stuffed a few syringes into his bag. "If Jack asks, tell him I probably won't be back until late tonight."

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Good luck…"

He started to turn away, but slowly spun back around. He ran a hand nervously through his hair. "And, uh, thanks again. For the penguin—for the calendar." He bit his tongue, in hopes he'd stop talking. "I'll put it to good use… well, next year."

She winked. "You better. I'll be watching." She closed the door behind them. "I'll lock up for you. See you tomorrow, loser."

He glanced back at her before parting ways, and just as expected, her smile was unhesitatingly contagious...

"Later, punk."

 ** _LINE_**

"You never told me you were married once."

Crab nearly spewed out the coffee he'd just sipped from his mug. "What?!" he managed between chokes. "And where exactly did you get that kind of private information?"

Azura didn't flinch as his voice rose, she only sighed. "Well, you know what they say… loose lips sink ships…"

"Jack," he mumbled under his breath. "That cocky son of a… don't tell me he's been drinking again."

"Just a little, the other night after the show," she said, moving to sit atop her usual spot on the corner of his desk—at this point, it practically had her name on it. "Don't worry, I was the only one there, and you know I won't go gossiping about it to anyone else."

Crab glanced at her, held it there. "I didn't think I was nearly interesting enough to gossip about after shows in the first place."

"Jack is so fond of you," she cooed, as if she was assuring a child. "He talks about you endlessly. And besides, he… he knows how close we are."

His brows furrowed. " _Does_ he."

They both fell silent, looking at each other for a shred of direction. It didn't surprise him that Azura was the first to speak up.

"So how exactly did it even happen, anyways? Tell me about it…?"

"Well, I mean, you started working here training Ora, and then you started coming to my lab all the time, pestering me for advice—"

"No, dummy," she said, lightly punching him in the arm. "I mean… tell me about your wife!"

" _Ex_ -wife," he sharply, sternly corrected.

"A simple mistake," she added with a dainty swat of her hand. "How long were you married…?"

"Not long. It didn't end well."

Azura said nothing, only listened intently—clearly, she was waiting for more, and her expression was an eager amount of both inquisitive and concerned.

Crab sighed, standing to his feet. "We were really young, and I cared more about my job than I did about her. And trust me, that's the _long_ version of this pointless story. Satisfied?"

"You cared more about the animals, you mean?" she asked, ignoring his conclusion, clearly _not_ satisfied.

"Yeah. It was my first vet job, and I worked long hours. Hardly ever left the lab, really."

"Kind of like now, with the aquarium?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, kind of like _now_ … with the aquarium. Can we—"

"Is that why you wouldn't… with me…?"

He swallowed hard, hard enough to feel the muscles of his throat tighten and ache around whatever words he _wanted_ to say. He'd be lucky if he could even choke out a coherent response, thanks to the disappointed way Azura was watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Wh-what, no, Azura… you have nothing to do with this, it's... it's not you... I told you that. It's more complicated than that."

Yeah, "complicated" was definitely a word that described it.

Although they had become close friends, it... wasn't always like that. At one time, it was almost something more, and sometimes Crab wondered if Azura was really as serious about it as she had claimed at the time. As painful as it was, he had even turned her down back then. He always asked himself why, what _was_ the reason? Was it because she was too young, too beautiful, too talented? Too associated with the job? Too perfect? Too perfect for _him_ , anyway—that's what he told himself. There's no way he could make someone like her happy, regardless of what she thought he was capable of giving her.

She deserved someone who had time for her, and sadly he was not a man who had time to spare. Women needed attention, and he had his hands full enough with Rifle as it was.

For the most part, things were never awkward between them after that. Her playfulness, paired with the occasional harmless flirting never completely subsided, but he figured that was just a part of her spirited personality, and at this point it just seemed natural. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't _enjoy_ both the attention and her friendship, but...

"Doesn't it help, you think, to… work with someone you care about?" her question snapped him back to reality. She smiled; it was sweet and almost sad, as fleeting as it seemed at the time. "Makes it so much more fun and meaningful."

Crab didn't know what to say, especially as earnestly as she had put it, but… it was _true_ ** _._** "Yeah, you and Sasha… you're practically sisters at this point."

She raised an eyebrow, shrugging off the topic. "Yeah. I… I guess we are."

He didn't mean to shut down the conversation like that, but sometimes it was just... easier that way; a defense, of sorts. Now it was his turn again, and he had no idea how to salvage anything left from their conversation. He'd have to think of something quick—anything, really—

"On the topic of prying into people's personal lives, how are things with you and your new boyfriend?"

Well, _that_ would certainly do it.

Azura was clearly caught off guard by his question, but laughed it off just as quick. She tucked a strand of hair innocently behind her ear. "We're good, everything's fine. I haven't abandoned him for my job yet, so…"

"Oh, very funny. You're hilarious." He sighed. "Don't you have to go feed Ora soon?"

She ignored him, her finger aimlessly tracing the outline of the whistle around her neck. She was still perched comfortably atop his desk. "He's planning on coming to see one of my shows soon."

"Hmm," Crab answered, realizing that he probably should've sounded a little more interested, a little happier for her. "Be careful, or else you'll end up like me." He smirked teasingly. "You're almost here at the aquarium as much as I am... won't he get mad at you for working all the time?"

Azura stopped for a moment, then shook her head defiantly. "No way, because he knows how much it means to me. Ora isn't just my job... she's my friend. He understands that." She paused for a minute, studying him. "Just like I understand how much your job means to you."

He looked away from her, a bit uncomfortable with the way this conversation was headed... _again_. "You're always trying to pick a fight with me, you know that?" She only smiled at this, and he shrugged. "Well, for your sake, I hope you're right. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"You always act tough, but you're such a sensitive guy," she said quietly, out of nowhere, barely loud enough to be heard. "That's what Jack tells me."

He quickly turned away, flustered. "Yeah, well, Jack doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does. What else does he tell you?"

Azura shrugged. "Just things."

 _Great_.Jack spouting off random, drunken " _things_ " about anything was bad enough—let alone about him. He'd have to have a talk with Jack about this... preferably before Azura decided to hang out with him again and he brought up the rest of Crab's entire life story—if he hadn't already.

When Crab looked back up from his thoughts, Azura was closer to him than he remembered her being a moment ago.

"You care so much for the animals and everyone else that you forget to take care of _yourself_ ," she told him sadly. "And I know not everyone can understand that about you, but..."

He crossed his arms, annoyed. If that was supposed to be a jab at his failed marriage, he really wished she wouldn't bring that up again—

"But Jack and I _do_ understand, and that's why we're your friends and gossip about you behind your back."

"Oh, great," Crab offered sarcastically. "That's assuring. Sounds like I need new friends."

"Actually, it sounds like you need to lighten up and come drink with us next time, so we can gossip about you to your face." Azura hugged onto one of his arms tightly, chuckling to herself. "I'm kidding. Think about it, okay?"

He couldn't stop his lips from tugging slightly upward. "Son of a gun... you'll never give up, will you?"

She was already half-way to the door when she gave him a prompt farewell wave. "Nope." She kept walking until she was in the hallway and only her voice could be heard. "I'll tell Jack you're locking up early and getting some rest tonight, okay?"

She didn't exactly leave room for argument, and Crab wasn't in the mood to argue with her anyway.

Still, it was odd.

Minus the ridiculousness of it all, he wasn't too bothered by the fact Azura was so concerned about him.

 ** _SINKER_**

He'd almost given up on her. It was getting late, and he couldn't help but feel a twist of uneasiness in his stomach; he'd talked to her a couple times throughout the day, and when he last saw her she seemed fine, but...

When she finally appeared at his door, he found that the uneasiness was replaced with a wave of guilt. There was no charming smile present on her face tonight, no confidence or boldness radiating from her movements. He'd never seen her like this.

"Thanks for not telling Jack about… last night," she said, her voice almost quivering.

Azura was solemn, her face thoughtful and conflicted without her usual cheeriness... it almost made her look like a different person entirely.

"Hmph, well, since you've come to see me tonight, I guess you're holding up your end of our deal."

Crab felt his eyes wander to one of her hands, clutched tightly over her chest as if she was in some sort of pain. It was possible she wasn't even aware she was doing it. She looked tired and withdrawn—almost like someone who had nearly drowned the night before.

 _Oh wait_.

Azura sighed, hopping up to sit on the edge of his desk, and her scent was devoid of the usual trace of saltwater it normally had. She apparently hadn't been in the water at all today.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead… you can check me, if it'll make you happy."

Crab didn't hesitate to hurry and examine her before she changed her mind, quickly adjusting his stethoscope around his neck; at least she was being somewhat more cooperative now. "I still wish you'd go see a doctor, Azura," he said roughly. "You nearly _drowned_. I still can't believe you just… fell in. You can swim just fine, you're certified and trained to be in that pool…"

"But you _saved_ me, and it's over with now."

"No, it's not just _over with_ now. You were unconscious when I got you out of there, completely unresponsive… like a dead fish out of water. You're lucky I walked by when I did…!"

"Maybe I hit my head or something, I don't know…"

"I still think you should see a doctor, you need—"

"I _am_ seeing a doctor, right now!" she exclaimed, gesturing, clearly, at him.

Crab rolled his eyes. "Flattering, but you're not exactly the species I'm licensed to treat, you know."

"Well, Ora trusts you… so I trust you."

"Please. Ora trusts anyone who puts seafood in her belly."

She glared at him, offended. "That's not true and you know it. Now get it on with it, would you?"

He shook his head, sighing as he broke their eye contact to circle behind her. She was fidgety; there was no denying that. "Something bothering you?"

Azura didn't turn to look at him as she felt the gentle press of a stethoscope against her back. She took a breath, hesitating. "Should I take a deep breath or something?"

"Just breathe normally," he instructed, voice focused on the task in front of him. She did as she was told, unusually quiet now. Apparently she had no intention of answering his question. That was just fine by him—maybe it'd be better if they kept this clinical anyway.

Crab lightly moved the end of the stethoscope to the other side now, quite pleased that her lungs seemed calm; no whooshing or crackling was good news for both of them. Apparently he had saved her just in time; there didn't seem to be any damage done and no lingering fluids were present, or at least that he could hear without the proper tools or tests.

He frowned; he'd need to check her pulse and heartbeat now, and when he circled around in front of her he found that she was frowning, too. In fact, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. One of the many unfortunate effects he had on females, and he had no idea why. He hadn't even said half of the things he _wanted_ to say to her about her health, and how reckless she was being even insinuating that she was perfectly fine.

"Look, I know why you don't want me to tell Jack about your little incident last night," he said, as calmly as possible without startling her as he gently reached for her hand. She looked confused for a moment, before realizing he was merely checking for her pulse. She surrendered her wrist to him, limply.

They both knew Jack would make her take a break from performing if there was even the slightest possibility she wasn't feeling well; he cared greatly about the health and well-being of his staff, both humans and sea creatures alike.

"He trusts you," she replied, watching as he pressed two fingers against her pulsing wrist. "He trusts your judgment more than anyone's… if you give me the okay to perform tomorrow, he won't know the difference. Please, I beg you… my boyfriend is coming to see my show for the first time, remember?"

For a minute, she was afraid he was too busy concentrating to hear her, until she noticed he began to glower. "You know I'm only being like this because I'm worried about you. This isn't a joke. You almost died."

"There's no reason to worry now, though, I promise," she pleaded, suddenly grabbing his hands within her own; it caught him off guard, but he stayed still despite his initial reaction to pull away. "You know how much this means to me, and besides… I-I don't want to let Jack down!"

Crab looked away, eventually releasing himself from her tight grasp. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to ease her mind, without having to completely ignore his own judgment on the matter. He knew her all too well, well enough to know how stubborn and pig-headed she could be when she had her mind set on something.

On the other hand, what would Jack want him to do?

She sighed, the noise suddenly filling the silence between them. "Ora and I have been training so hard for this, too. I've been so excited to show you and Sasha and the rest of the crew what we've been working on… I thought you liked my shows."

"Azura, please, don't start with me… you know damn well I love watching you perform, but that's not the point here."

"The point being…?" she asked, trying to convince him with desperate eyes.

He couldn't stop the growl that escaped from his throat as he lowered himself further, slowly starting to place the cool metal of the stethoscope onto her chest. "Forget it, I don't have time to argue with you about this… hold still, I'm almost done—"

"Would you stop prodding me with that thing?!" she barked suddenly, pushing his hands away and crossing her arms in one frantic, swift movement. She continued looking away, unable to meet his eyes. She muttered a barely audible "I'm sorry" before turning away completely.

They shared a moment of awkward silence, a tense air of hopelessness surrounding them. It had never been like this before… not even from the beginning. Crab didn't know what to do or say, afraid that he would upset her further if he even blinked. He looked to the floor, hopeful the right answer was somewhere on his feet.

Animals were much easier to examine, _that_ was for sure.

How did he even get in this ridiculous situation to begin with, stuck in between wanting to keep Azura safe and not wanting her to be angry with him? Sure, he could live with it. Certainly wouldn't be the first girl that held some pointless grudge against him, but... that's not what he wanted. Not with _her_.

Of course he understood her side in this, as childish as it seemed; her and Jack were just the same in that aspect. They were both so dedicated to their shows, to the aquarium, to Ora... although hard to admit, Crab realized he couldn't blame them too much; he was just the same when it came to his own work. He might not have completely understood the way Jack and Azura treated everything like it was some big joke, but at the very least, he couldn't deny their dedication and how much everyone adored them for it.

He was about to just leave her be for now, give her some space, until much to his surprise, Azura's face gave way to laughter. At first he thought she was shaking out of nervousness or anger, but he realized she was actually stifling her laughter instead.

He was glad _someone_ found this amusing. "What's so funny?"

"Well, at least one good thing came out of this mess."

"And what's that?" he asked, irritated.

"I got to see you completely soaked, wearing a wet lab coat like a total idiot."

He blinked, letting out a sigh of relief. "Making fun of the person who saved your life, huh? Now that's the Azura I know. For a minute there, I was starting to worry about you."

More of her laughter suddenly filled the room, a much welcomed noise that Crab would take _any day_ over the uncomfortable silence they'd just been subjected to.

"I still can't believe you jumped in and saved me like that."

He scoffed. "What, you think I'd just sit back and watch you die instead? I admit I panicked, but... I really did think I was too late."

"You probably thought I was just faking to get you to kiss me again," she said wistfully, almost hard to pinpoint.

"Knowing you, the thought crossed my mind," Crab said stiffly, looking away.

"Did it work?" she asked, her smile slowing returning.

"Apparently. You're alive, aren't you?" He stopped for a moment, changing his tone quickly once he realized they were completely off-track and headed for a _much_ different topic altogether. "Now, stop trying to distract me! This is a serious matter. And I've… decided."

Her ears immediately perked up, waiting for his answer.

"I've decided that I'm going to back your decision to perform tomorrow, if you really think you're up for it."

Azura's eyes beamed, and she instantly shot up to a stand. "Really?!" she cried. "I'm so happy, thank you so—"

"On the condition you be careful and never let something like this happen again, you hear me?" His words were harsh, and he crossed his arms over his chest for emphasis. "I'm not telling you this as some kind of make-shift doctor on duty, I'm telling you this as your friend."

Azura grinned, rolling her eyes at him as she tackled him into a hug. She felt him tense, though unmoving, underneath her hold. "I know, you're just worried about me because you care. Has anyone ever told you that you'd make a great mother?"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "I'm being serious here, though. Please be careful, Azura… all right? If you start to feel faint or feverish, or catch yourself coughing up more fluid…"

"I've got a condition for you, too, then," she shushed him. "If something happens and I fall in tomorrow, you have to jump in and save me again. Deal?"

Clearly, she was back to her normal self again, and that gave Crab some consolation that he was making the right decision with this. All he could do now was worry… and wait. He shimmied out of her embrace, her happy face too close to him, too difficult to look at.

"Just… get out of here, punk… it's late. I got work to do."

He sat down at his desk, resigned to her, but they both knew he didn't have a shot in this battle to begin with. She'd won lock, stock, and barrel—just like always.

She laughed softly as she began to take her leave. "You got it, doc," she chirped behind her innocently enough, though her devious expression betrayed her. "Thank you so much... for everything."

Her footsteps stopped at the door, and he could hear the latch of the handle move against the lock.

"Hey. Azura…?"

She almost didn't stop. "Yeah?"

Crab searched for his words carefully, before deciding in the end that they probably didn't matter. "Uh… nothing. I'm looking forward to it… to the show." He cleared his throat. "Good luck."

She turned this time, still balanced halfway on the door. "It'll be the best one you've seen yet, I promise!" Her smile had returned for good, it seemed, though it was plain to see she was exhausted. "Oh, and I told Jack to reserve the best seat in the house for you. You know, your favorite one in the front that always gets splashed with tons of water every show? You might have to fight Sasha for it, though."

She sent him a quick wink before exiting, an unexpected gesture that left Crab at his desk annoyed and flustered… that girl could talk him into anything, he was certain of it. He worried briefly that maybe he was too harsh with her—harsher than she deserved; after all, it _was_ an accident. But then he decided quickly that he, also, didn't deserve the heart attack she nearly gave him last night for almost drowning in front of him. Maybe they were even now.

At least he had the show to look forward to. Though he enjoyed the constant monotony of his work, it was always nice to get away from time to time. As long as Azura was back to her normal mischief, things would be perfect and he could rest easy—rest easy and assured that he made the right choice and that she would be happy.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he _did_ worry too much.

He pulled out the miniature penguin calendar from his lab coat pocket, studying it absently as he flipped through the pages. Even though he couldn't really use the silly thing until next year, he found himself always keeping it with him anyway. Azura would probably laugh about that, if she knew. He stopped flipping once he found July; today's date. July 19th. A year seemed so far away, and yet, he knew that this time next year he'd at least be prepared for anything...

Azura always made sure of that.


End file.
